That there is one to love me;
Then let come what come may
To a life that has been so sad,
I shall have had my day!"

He murmured this last verse over and over again till it made mere
monotony in his mind, and till at last exhausted nature had its way and
lulled his senses into a profound slumber. Strange to say, as soon as he
was fast asleep, Charlie woke up. Perking his little ears sharply, he
sat briskly erect on his tiny haunches, his forepaws well placed on his
master's breast, his bright eyes watchfully fixed on the opening of the
shed, and his whole attitude expressing that he considered himself "on
guard." It was evident that had the least human footfall broken the
stillness, he would have made the air ring with as much noise as he was
capable of. He had a vibrating bark of his own, worthy of a much larger
animal, and he appeared to be anxiously waiting for an opportunity to
show off this special accomplishment. No such chance, however, offered
itself; the minutes and hours went by in undisturbed order. Now and then
a rabbit scampered across the field, or an owl flew through the trees
with a plaintive cry,--otherwise, so far as the immediate surroundings
of the visible land were concerned, everything was perfectly calm. But
up in the sky there were signs of gathering trouble. The clouds had
formed into woollier masses,--their grey had changed to black, their
white to grey, and the moon, half hidden, appeared to be hurrying
downward to the west in a flying scud of etheric foam. Some disturbance
was brewing in the higher altitudes of air, and a low snarling murmur
from the sea responded to what was, perchance, the outward gust of a
fire-tempest in the sun. The small Charlie was, no doubt, quite ignorant
of meteorological portents, nevertheless he kept himself wide awake,
sniffing at empty space in a highly suspicious manner, his tiny black
nose moist with aggressive excitement, and his whole miniature being
prepared to make "much ado about nothing" on the smallest provocation.

The morning broke sullenly, in a dull haze, though here and there pale
patches of blue, and flushes of rose-pink, showed how fair the day would
willingly have made itself, had only the elements been propitious.
Helmsley slept well on through the gradual unfolding of the dawn, and it
was fully seven o'clock when he awoke with a start, scarcely knowing
where he was. Charlie hailed his return to consciousness with marked
en